Conflicting Reports

Over the last few days there has been some conflicting reports about when Ron Dennis informed Hamilton of his decision to step down.

Autosport have run an article on their site claiming that Hamilton knew before Christmas of the plan. Other sites, such as Crash.net and ITV-F1.com have run with a different take on it, stating that Hamilton only knew ‘minutes’ before it was publically announced.

In my opinion, there can only be one realistic answer – the one offered by Autosport. This isn’t a slight against ITV-F1, who I’ve long poked at the inadequate coverage of, but just simple common sense.

Ron Dennis was a father-like figure during the career of Lewis Hamilton. He has nurtured him from aspiring go-kart racer to Formula One world champion. Over the past two years, Dennis has staunchly stood by his driver no matter what, even against some vicious media criticisms.

Now you want us to believe that Ron Dennis, just ‘minutes’ before publically announcing he was stepping down, decided to tell Hamilton.

Not a chance!

Having watched over the career of Hamilton, Ron Dennis would not risk putting a few bumps in his young chargers mental state as he prepares for his title defence. Between the new rules, coping with being a champion and the massive expectation that Hamilton has on his shoulders, there is no way that Dennis would just add another burden to him.

That is why I would side with the facts offered by the Autosport article. I would be highly surprised to find out if down the line, we hear more facts stating that the other articles were on the money. While I’m not discounting such an occurrence, I find it highly improbable.